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Stalteri was born to an Italian father and a Guyanese mother.[3] While growing up, Stalteri says his favourite player was Paolo Maldini and the first live football match he ever saw was Toronto Blizzard. He also considered Physical Education to be his favourite subject.[7]

While playing youth soccer in Ontario with the Malton Bullets, won a Robbie International Soccer Tournament Championship.[citation needed]

A defender who can play either side of the field as well as in midfield, Stalteri began his soccer career playing one year of college soccer at Clemson University in 1996. Following his first year, he elected to turn professional, signing a contract with the Toronto Lynx while attending York University. After playing one season with the Lynx, alongside fellow Canadian national teammate Dwayne De Rosario, where he led the team in scoring with eight goals and two assists, Stalteri was noticed by a scout from Werder Bremen and purchased from the team. After two and a half seasons in the reserves,[8] Stalteri made his debut with the club in August 2000, scoring in the first game of the season against Energie Cottbus.

During the 2001–02 season, Stalteri established his role in the first team at Bremen and went on to cement his role as a regular in the 2002–03 season. In 2003–04, Werder Bremen won the Bundesliga.

In May 2005, Stalteri transferred to English Premiership club Tottenham Hotspur.[9] He featured heavily in the 2005–06 campaign as Spurs narrowly missed out on a Champions League place, but the arrival of full back Pascal Chimbonda at White Hart Lane the following season limited his chances.

On March 4, 2007, after coming on as a substitute, he scored a dramatic last minute winner against London rivals West Ham United to complete an extraordinary 4–3 win.[10] He had hardly featured in the first team all season up to that point. His other Spurs goals came against Manchester City in the league[11] and Leicester City in the FA Cup.[12]

On January 31, 2008, Stalteri moved to Fulham on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut for Fulham away at Middlesbrough on February 9, 2008 where his team lost 1–0.[13] Having returned to White Hart Lane, his contract was terminated by mutual consent on December 21, 2008.[14]

Stalteri was a regular starter for the Canadian national team for over ten years since making his debut on August 17, 1997 against Iran. In total, he won 84 caps and scored 7 goals for the national team.[16] That made him the most capped Canadian of all time until this record was surpassed by Julian De Guzman in 2015.[17] He was named team captain for a friendly on June 1, 2007 against Venezuela, and remained captain for international fixtures for the rest of his international career including for the entirety of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. On September 7, 2010 Stalteri earned his 83rd cap for Canada in a 2–1 win over Honduras making him the all-time leader in appearances for the Canadian Men's National Team.[18]